Variational proof of the existence of periodic orbits in the anisotropic Kepler problem (Q6155763)

The $n$-body problem is concerned with the motion, here, of free electrons, when the $n$ mass points are gravitationally attracted to each other. It is not possible to find a general solution of the $n$-body problem, but it may be possible to find a special solution, in particular, a periodic solution. In order to find such a solution one way is the variational method. In this paper, the authors apply this method to anisotropic Kepler problem. The anisotropic Kepler problem (AKP) is a model of the motion of free electrons on an $n$-type semiconductor and is known to be a non-integrable Hamiltonian system. A number of approximate periodic solutions of the AKP have been obtained through numerical calculations, but none have been mathematically proved to exist. The authors use the variational method to prove the existence of periodic orbits with certain properties in the AKP. Their main result is the following: for any $T>0$ and any $\mu\in (0,1)$ (appearing in the potential), there exists a periodic orbit $q(t)=(x(t),y(t))$ that has period 4T and satisfies some properties in the AKP. The initial solution is the solution of Kepler's problem with $\mu=1$, and the authors continue by reducing $\mu$ from 1 to 0. In this paper, ``the authors first show that the action functional of the AKP has a minimizer under a fixed region condition with boundary conditions on a vertical half-line. They, also, identified the smallest collision trajectory that satisfies the same boundary conditions. Constructing an orbit with an action functional smaller than this collision orbit via local deformation, they show that the collision solution does not become the minimizer. This holds for any $\mu\in (0,1)$. Reversibility allows the periodic orbit to be constructed from the minimizer obtained via the action functional.''